Banking Law

We once thought that Clinton appointee Franklin Raines had a sweet deal at Fannie Mae (even though he had to--kind of--sort of--pay back a wad of his "compensation"). On a per-hour basis, Franklin had nothing on current White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Emanuel, appointed to Freddie Mac's Board of Directors by Clinton, stayed a smidge over a year at Freddie Mac, didn't serve on any of the committees where the actual work of the Board was performed, and still pocketed a cool $320,000. Even if he forced himself to attend seven board meetings (the board met only every other month) and actually stayed awake during them, what's that work out to, $46,000 an hour? Wow, even Eliot Spizer wouldn't pay that much for an hour of straight sex.

 And, boy did Freddie get its money's worth of strict oversight out of Rahm ("Eagle-Eye") Emanuel!

On Emanuel's watch, the board was told by executives of a plan to use accounting tricks to mislead shareholders about outsize profits the government-chartered firm was then reaping from risky investments. The goal was to push earnings onto the books in future years, ensuring that Freddie Mac would appear profitable on paper for years to come and helping maximize annual bonuses for company brass.



The accounting scandal wasn't the only one that brewed during Emanuel's tenure.



During his brief time on the board, the company hatched a plan to enhance its political muscle. That scheme, also reviewed by the board, led to a record $3.8 million fine from the Federal Election Commission for illegally using corporate resources to host fundraisers for politicians. Emanuel was the beneficiary of one of those parties after he left the board and ran in 2002 for a seat in Congress from the North Side of Chicago.



The board was throttled for its acquiescence to the accounting manipulation in a 2003 report by Armando Falcon Jr., head of a federaloversight agency for Freddie Mac. The scandal forced Freddie Mac to restate $5 billion in earnings and pay $585 million in fines and legal settlements. It also foreshadowed even harder times at the firm.



Many of those same risky investment practices tied to the accounting scandal eventually brought the firm to the brink of insolvency and led to its seizure last year by the Bush administration, which pledged to inject up to $100 billion in new capital to keep the firm afloat. The Obama administration has doubled that commitment.



Freddie Mac reported recently that it lost $50 billion in 2008. It so far has tapped $14 billion of the government's guarantee and said it soon will need an additional $30 billion to keep operating.

The Change We Have Been Waiting For. Not.